It’s a Lovefest for ‘DWTS’ Partners Brandy & Maks, Really!

To put an end to the rampant rumors that Brandy and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy really don’t get along, the pop singer showed up with black duct tape over her mouth during ‘Dancing with the Stars‘ rehearsals last week. But the dance pro says it really wasn’t necessary.

“It was a sweet gesture,” Chmerkovskiy told us post-show Monday night, adding that Brandy really only had the tape on for about 30 seconds … and then she started talking with the tape over her mouth.

“I loved the gesture. It was very cute and sweet. But why do we need it? Because we understand each other. It was visually for you guys to see that we’re cool. It was great.”

Brandy was especially concerned that the haters out there had run with this story a bit too long.

“We’re both very passionate people and every partner is going to go through something where they don’t get along for that quick second,” she said. “But I just wanted people to see the different colors of our relationship and see us laugh and have a good time as friends. I just kind of hated that they put it out there that were are enemies, which is totally not true.”

Judging by their camaradarie in the press line after each show, I believe them. And besides, would Maks really put up with any crap?

“Does she look mean?” he joked, as Brandy flashed a sweet smile. “I mean, especially to me, seriously, do I look that weak that somebody can be that mean to me?”

That doesn’t mean rehearsals between the two are always all puppies and unicorns. Nope, Maks is known for cracking his dancing whip hard. “Our rehearsals are one of the most productive rehearsals we can have,” he explained. “We don’t play around. We come in, we’re very efficient. If you see any drama it’s always Wednesday or Thursday because those are the hardest days, that’s when I’m like literally shoving steps and dancing down her throat. People are like, ‘Hold on. I need a break.’ Oh, no, no. We need to get to what we need to get to today and then tomorrow you come back and we can be relaxed.”